Tuesday meant that this was the first opportunity to get right into the middle of the craziness of Provencal markets. Vaison la Romaine, a market which we have found unsurpassed in size, was therefore our destination. We didn’t really need to buy a lot but just getting in there with the hordes meant we were back - crazy eh?
My only disappointment was that the lady who sells my favourite sun dried tomatoes was no where to be seen. Hopefully she’s just on vacation and we’ll see her in later weeks.
But all of the other sights and smells of this unique market were found in abundance.
We had communicated with the Frasers last night about lunch today and got reservations at Le Verger des Papes in Chateauneuf du Pape, where we met Brenda and Bill as well as Jonathan and Meghan who have now joined them.
We had a nice table on the terrace overlooking the Rhone valley. Usually the ambiance of the location is the reason to be at this restaurant, but today most had the prix fixe at 20 euros and it was better food than we had remembered. There was tapinade in pastry, zucchini mousse and green salad for appetizer, with pork in fig sauce and a baked tomato for main course and an apple tarlet with scoops of chocolate mousse and ice cream for dessert. Ambience + Cuisine = A great experience!
The weather has returned to its normal sunny and hot, but under the shade of the terrace trees, we had a very enjoyable time and a bottle of both white (Domaine Beaurenard) and red (Pierre Usseglio) Chateauneuf du Pape. It would be wrong to drink anything else in the village.
After lunch we all walked down to the Maison des Vins and passed a couple of wine shops selling Brad and Angie’s wine. The LCBO could take a lesson on how to get rid of their stock of the Miraval rose.
The rest of the day passed quietly, but lest we be outdone by Verger des Papes, we had a pretty nice dinner of duck tournedos embedded with a medallion of foie gras and fresh pasta with mushroom sauce and mache/mozarella salad, not to mention another kick at Iles flottante.
My only disappointment was that the lady who sells my favourite sun dried tomatoes was no where to be seen. Hopefully she’s just on vacation and we’ll see her in later weeks.
But all of the other sights and smells of this unique market were found in abundance.
We had communicated with the Frasers last night about lunch today and got reservations at Le Verger des Papes in Chateauneuf du Pape, where we met Brenda and Bill as well as Jonathan and Meghan who have now joined them.
We had a nice table on the terrace overlooking the Rhone valley. Usually the ambiance of the location is the reason to be at this restaurant, but today most had the prix fixe at 20 euros and it was better food than we had remembered. There was tapinade in pastry, zucchini mousse and green salad for appetizer, with pork in fig sauce and a baked tomato for main course and an apple tarlet with scoops of chocolate mousse and ice cream for dessert. Ambience + Cuisine = A great experience!
The weather has returned to its normal sunny and hot, but under the shade of the terrace trees, we had a very enjoyable time and a bottle of both white (Domaine Beaurenard) and red (Pierre Usseglio) Chateauneuf du Pape. It would be wrong to drink anything else in the village.
After lunch we all walked down to the Maison des Vins and passed a couple of wine shops selling Brad and Angie’s wine. The LCBO could take a lesson on how to get rid of their stock of the Miraval rose.
The rest of the day passed quietly, but lest we be outdone by Verger des Papes, we had a pretty nice dinner of duck tournedos embedded with a medallion of foie gras and fresh pasta with mushroom sauce and mache/mozarella salad, not to mention another kick at Iles flottante.
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